I’m looking to apply for Duke Early Decision. I am taking the October 27 ACT and I am going to study and practice a lot and hopefully pull a 32-33 overall. I also have a brother who graduated from Duke so I am a sibling legacy. Could you guys give me some more ideas on how to make my app better and if I have a good chance?
However, I am pretty sure I have to send in one ACT score for my Common Application, and then when the October ACT results are out they will use those scores rather than my other ACT score submitted. Question is, which of these scores should I submit?:
This is my September 8, 2018 ACT score. I increased my scores a lot and I didn’t study that much. (I studied English the most and got a 5 point increase.)
Composite: 29
E: 31
M: 31
R: 22 (I know this is terrible. This is why I am asking this question)
S: 30
This is a state ACT score that I took in February 2018.
Composite: 27
E: 26
M: 28
R: 26
S:27
It’s very, very difficult to raise your composite ACT from a 29 to a 32-33, especially since you’ve already improved significantly. However, you’ve already proven that you can do better on the reading section, so I would focus on just getting that section up on the October 27 ACT. Additionally, Duke does superscore the ACT, meaning they will look at the best scores in each section, which means that you should consider submitting both tests as they will use your 26 reading score. I wish you the best of luck in testing and the admissions process, I am also applying to Duke ED so maybe I’ll see you next fall!
By the way, you know that my reading score decreased from 26 to 22 right? I think I got super lucky on the time I got a 26 reading ACT. However, I never spent a lot of time focusing on reading, and this next month I am planning on really practicing it to raise it to in the 30s. So would it still be best to send both scores in?
Also, Duke only superscores ACT if you took the writing portion I believe, and I took it Freshman year and got a 21 on it…